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UK watchdog imposes ban, £180K fine on ex-Deutsche Bank worker

The Financial Conduct Authority on Monday barred a former bank trader from working in the financial services industry, saying he had “improperly influenced” the submission of information for the Libor interest rates benchmark. It also ordered him to pay a £180,000 fine.

Guillaume Adolph, who worked at Deutsche Bank as a short-term interest rate derivatives trader, traded products referenced to Swiss francs (CHF) and Japanese yen (JPY).

The regulator found that between July 2008 and March 2010 he asked Deutsche’s CHF Libor submitters to adjust their submissions to benefit his trading positions, and he also took his own trading positions into account when acting as Deutsche’s primary JPY Libor submitter.

In addition, he “improperly agreed” with a trader at another LIBOR panel bank to make JPY LIBOR submissions which took into account that trader’s requests.

“Mr Adolph’s misconduct threatened the integrity of important benchmarks. He should have no further role in the financial services industry.”

The FCA added that Adolph “closed his mind to the risk that these actions were improper. He was also knowingly concerned in Deutsche’s failure to observe proper standards of market conduct.”

In 2015, Deutsche Bank was fined £227 million by the FCA over serious misconduct issues pertaining to the manipulation and submission of rates.

On Monday, Adolph’s lawyers, London-based BCL Solicitors, said in a statement: “Thus, while he does not admit the FCA’s findings, Mr Adolph has waived his right to contest that he was concerned in a breach of an FCA principle by Deutsche Bank, his former employer.”

“The FCA does not conclude or even suggest that he was dishonest. As the FCA has previously found, the blame for the problems associated with Libor within Deutsche Bank lies firmly at the door of the bank.”

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